Hollywood, Los Angeles
Group Exhibition
North/South
Rajiv Menon ContemporaryAiza Ahmed Lakshmi Madhavan Devi Seetharam Jatinder Singh Durhailay Rajiv Menon Contemporary is pleased to present North/South. While art from South Asia is often positioned through the divide between the Eastern and Western worlds, within the region, the distinction between North and South remains especially striking. Regionalism is a driving force in South Asian art, where local perspective often supersedes the idea of the nation. This is most pronounced and contrasting in Punjab and Kerala, two states representing the near absolute polarities of South Asia. Focusing on artists from these two, distinct locales, North/South highlights the significance of regional perspectives in South Asian art, while demonstrating how art-making practices produce a sense of space and place. In Jatinder Singh Durhailay's nostalgic depiction of Sikh family life, Punjab emerges not just as a place, but as a spirit. Aiza Ahmed's paintings of Wagha Border explores how places are divided, often along arbitrary lines, and highlight Punjab's fractured status within the South Asian imagination. Moving South to Kerala, Devi Seetharam’s paintings of men in public space capture the unique spirit of the region through everyday social moments. While critiquing the dominance of men in Kerala's society, her precise, evocative paintings of men wearing mundus present Kerala as not just a place, but a feeling. Lakshmi Madhavan's textile works capture a uniquely Keralite voice through a re-imagining of the generationally-taught kasavu weaving tradition. Working with historic weaving communities in Balarampuram, Madhavan pushes conceptual practice as a means to also preserve the region's living heritage. Through the journey from North to South, this exhibition highlights how artists define and challenge our sense of place, using depictions of figures, objects, and textiles as a means to assert regional identity in our visual culture. Aiza Ahmed (b. 1997, Lahore, Pakistan) lives and works in Brooklyn, NY, USA. She received her BFA from Cornell University (2020) and received her MFA in Painting from the Rhode Island School of Design (2024). Solo and two-person presentations include Border Play, Spring Break Art Show, New York, USA (2025) and No father–No frontier, Twelve Gates Arts, Philadelphia, PA, USA (2025). Group exhibitions include The Big Fat South Asian Show, RISD Museum, Providence, RI, USA (2025); What Lovers Do: RISD MFA Painting Exhibition, The FLAG Art Foundation, New York, NY, USA (2024); Really From, NYC Culture Club, New York, NY, USA (2023); Educate, Christie’s, New York, NY, USA (2020); I Shouted my Laughter to the Stars, Aicon Gallery, New York, USA (2022); First Person, Franklin Parrasch Gallery, New York, USA (2023); Going Dutch: A Rembrandt Soirée, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Ithaca, NY, USA (2017); Now Streaming, Rajiv Menon Contemporary, Los Angeles, CA, USA (2024); Parable of the Planes, New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA), New York, NY, USA (2024); In A Look, VM Art Gallery, Karachi, Pakistan (2021); Ladies Who Lunch, Dominion Gallery, Lahore, Pakistan (2021). Lakshmi Madhavan (b. 1986, Kerala, India) lives and works between Balaramapuram and Mumbai, India. Selected recent solo exhibitions include Generations in my Body, Akara contemporary, Mumbai, India (2024); Custom Collaboration with Rémy Martin to create a decadent collection of art & cocktails, Bungalow 9, Mumbai, India (2019). Selected group exhibitions include Three Steps of Land, Rajiv Menon Contemporary, Mumbai, India (2024); Fight or Flight, Akara Contemporary, Mumbai, India (2024); Hanging by a Thread II, Sutr Santati, Melbourne Museum, Melbourne, Australia (2023); Hanging by a Thread III, Fine Count, Craft Museum, Delhi, India (2022). Devi Seetharam (b. 1989; Trivandrum, India) lives and works in Bangalore, India. She holds a BFA from Lasalle College of the Arts. Selected recent solo exhibitions include Sydney Contemporary, Lon Gallery, Sydney, Australia (2024); Spreading the Wings, Angel Art Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan (2007). Selected group exhibitions include Three Steps of Land, Rajiv Menon Contemporary, Los Angeles, USA. (2024); Common Thread, Delhi Contemporary Art Week, Bikaner House, New Delhi, India (2023); In our Veins Flow Ink and Fire, Kochi-Muziris Biennale, AspinWall, Kochi, India (2022), Sukhdev Rathod, Devi Seetharam, Ketaki Sarpotdar, Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke, Mumbai, India (2020). Jatinder Singh (b. 1988, London, UK) lives and works in London, UK. He received his BFA from University Arts London. Solo exhibitions include Free Flowing Forms, The Artist Room, London, UK (2023). Selected group exhibitions include いなかのはな Inaka No Hana, NIDI Gallery, Tokyo, Japan (2017); Douceurs de l'imperceptible, Tender Books, London, UK (2016); State of Origin, Unit 24 Gallery, London, UK (2014); Thoughts; Empire, Faith and War, Brunei Gallery, London, UK (2014).